Avoid Grandparenting Mistakes

Thanksgiving Fun for the Grandkids

Thanksgiving is November 23. If you’ve got grandkids coming for dinner, here are some fun Thanksgiving activities to keep them entertained at the table.

Make Place Cards

The place cards shown in the above photo were made by one of my GaGa Sisters. Invite all your guests to trace their hand on construction paper and then decorate them with marking pens. Cut a slit in a small apple and insert the handprint.

Sing Silly Thanksgiving Songs

One year I provided song sheets with familiar tunes (“Hokey Pokey,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and “Row Row Row Your Boat”) adapted to silly Thanksgiving songs. We all had a laughing fit when I shook my wattle to the “Turkey Pokey.” Click on Silly Thanksgiving Songs for the words to your song sheets.

Put on a Comedy Show

Every family has its own perfect candidates who’d be naturals at regaling the crowd with cute Thanksgiving jokes. You’ll find 20 Thanksgiving jokes, at Grandma’s Briefs blog. If you get there quickly enough, you won’t be stumped when you’re asked, “What always comes at the end of Thanksgiving, Grandma?” (trot right over to find the answer!)

Have a Spelling Gobble

It’s not hard to come up with a list of words that keep kids as young as six in the competition. But if you detect anxious glances at televised football from daddies and grandpa, just toss in words like “Wampanoag” and “Massachusetts” to knock ’em out early and send ’em (thankfully!) on their way!

Play Thanksgiving Trivia

Blogger Joyce Gillis of What Happens at Grandma’s provided the inspiration for this Thanksgiving Trivia game. Her Thanksgiving celebration always includes an original play that she writes for her grandchildren to perform after dinner. Her three oldest grandchildren ask the following questions to see whether their parents were paying attention to the play.

1. How many days did the first Thanksgiving last? (3) 2. Which president declared Thanksgiving a national holiday? (Abe Lincoln) 3. What landmark shows where the Pilgrims landed? (Plymouth Rock) 4. True or False – All turkeys, male and female, gobble. (False – only males gobble; females cackle) 5. What is the busiest day of the year for plumbers? (day after Thanksgiving) 6. What other country besides the United States celebrates Thanksgiving? (Canada) 7. When is Canada’s Thanksgiving Day? (second Monday in October) 8. What famous American wanted the turkey to be the national symbol? (Benjamin Franklin) 9. In the 1600s when the first Thanksgiving was celebrated, which utensil was not yet invented? (fork) 10. How many Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower for the journey to the new world? (102) 11. How many survived to be present at the first Thanksgiving? (50) 12. How many of that number were women? (5) 13. Who did all the cooking for the first Thanksgiving? (5 women) 14. Which Indian tribe helped the Pilgrims survive? (Wampanoag) 15. What type of houses did the Wampanoag tribe build for themselves? (wigwams)

Whatever you decide to do on Thanksgiving, may it be a warm and fun-filled celebration that provides lasting memories for all of your family.